About Le Colonial - SF

Delight your guests in an evening of fine food and exotic cocktails at our unique venue just off Union Square. Travel through the tropical elegance of 1920s French Colonial Vietnam amidst the sway of palm trees and glow of candlelight. Take in the live music in our lounge, relax outdoors on the veranda or patio, gather friends and family to celebrate a special event or simply treat yourself to a night on the town. Enjoy a variety of event spaces for small intimate groups of 10 to as many as 500 people in the heart of downtown San Francisco.

The food was really disappointing. Only 1 out of the 3 dishes were decent. The green beans were insanely over salted (and I am a salt fiend) they went crazy with the fish sauce and then a lot of salt. The tofu curry was one of the worst asian meals I've ever tasted. It was what I call lazy curry where you just add a fistful of curry powder at the end of cooking and it's over-cumined and grainy and raw tasting. It was just weird. My husband will eat anything and he could hardly choke it down. The sweet potato noodles were good, but nothing special. The best thing was the dessert with caramelized bananas and ice cream. If I had not wanted to just have a nice time I would have sent it back. We go out about 1 a year for a date like this, so this was kinda sad.

The menu differs significantly from its sister restaurant in Chicago and the limited options in every category including: appetizers/entrees/specialty cocktails was extremely disappointing. If you’re a lover of Le Colonial Chicago like I am...then skip it’s SF Cousin.

My wife and I went to Le Colonial for our anniversary and prior to attending a play. Even though we arrived late, we were seated at a special table set up for us. Our server, Melissa, was a gem. She knew the menu, made suggestions and made sure that we got our dinner in time for us to make our play. The meal was excellent and the pricing was fair. We will definitely come back when we can relax and enjoy both the atmosphere and a less rushed meal.

Tags: Authentic, Worth the Drive, Comfort Food, Good for Anniversaries, Special Occasion, Good for a Date, Pre/post Theatre

Service was terrible. It was almost 30 minutes before our server ever came over and acknowledged us. We placed an order right away a cocktail and some appetizers and the main course. Within minutes the appetizers arrived. In any dining experience, you should at least have an opportunity to have your drink first before the food arrives.The food was all very tasty.

Past its prime. Went there after reading Bauer's review since not much was opened on Thanksgiving night other than hotel restaurants. Food was fair, not bad, but way overpriced for what it was. Ambiance is in serious need of refresh. Service was fair to good. Not going back. Better off going to slanted door.

I love this restaurant, it brings you back in time with the decor. My only issue was that I had looked on their website and yelp page and found nothing mentioned about corkage fees. So I called the restaurant and asked what the corkage for thanksgiving would be. I was put on hold while the person checked. They informed me $25 per bottle, which I was fine with. I showed up with a few bottles and they informed me that corkage was allowed on holidays. When I informed them that I had called to confirm before I lugged 4 bottles across town and told something different they acted as if I was lying to them. I was told that everyone knew the policy, clearly not everyone did because I was put on hold for 10 mins while they asked. They could have handled this differently. This is the hospitality business. Suggestion would be that have the guest buy a bottle off the menu and allow one bottle with the corkage put on the bill. Up your corkage to $35-$40 on the holidays. And this would solve your concern about making money on wine sales.

Tags: Good Vegetarian Options, Good for a Date, Authentic, Good for Birthdays, Cozy

This is one of my favorite restaurants in SF. Usually the food is outstanding but I was a little disappointed with it this time. The beef in the spring rolls was dry, tough and tasteless. The broth in the shrimp, scallop and fish dish tasted kind of weird. I will definitely go back but hope the taste improves.

Food was excellent. Drinks were excellent. Only caveat would be re: the service. Our waitress was a bit rude (she incorrectly placed an order for a friend I was dining with—but I heard her order the crab cakes, not the fish rolls—and she tried to blame it on my dining partner...). Still, the food far outshone the slightly less-than-welcoming service.

Tags: Special Occasion, Hot Spot, Authentic, Good for Groups, Good for Anniversaries, Organic

Our Uber driver recommended Le Colonial to us when we were visiting SF - he said it's hidden down an alley and if you didn't know it was there you'd never find it. He's completely right, but I'm so glad he recommended and we went looking!Was a fantastic experience, exquisite service and a unique dining experience from a group who eat out a lot in New York and Los Angeles. Give it a go, you won't regret the hunt to find it!

Tags: Good for Anniversaries, Creative Cuisine, Fit for Foodies, Romantic, Good for a Date

We enjoyed our anniversary meal very much! The host and wait staff were elegant and gracious, and made it special. The food was better than most in that price range. The brussel sprouts and GF crab cakes with mai tai and mojita was a lovely start. The lemongrass chicken came with lotsa vegies and was sublime. The sea bass in banana leaf with sweet potato noodles and vegies was divine. When the waitress incorrectly brought me a second drink the host came back with it as a gift. Very special place, classic environment but top notch in modern dining. Only minus was- The desserts looked meh.

Tags: Local Ingredients, Good for a Date, Good Vegetarian Options, Disabled Access, Neighborhood Gem, Good for Groups

Our service felt rushed like we were in a low-brow restaurant; she was asking for our dinner order before even serving our drinks. We were all given the other person's beverage and one non-drinker was mistakenly given champagne(!) instead of the sparkling water ordered. My salmon was cooked perfectly, but the plate was over-sauced, including the vegetables. Our appetizer was bland and underwhelming. Worst, my coat was knocked on the floor twice by the staff and yet I was not offered the coat check service they have available. I normally love this restaurant and leave this review to be constructive. Overall, I was disappointed and will go elsewhere when we have company in town. Maybe it was an off-night, but yikes. We've had much better experiences in the past. Saving grace was that the cocktails and wine were great (best mai tai ever) and our conversation saved the evening. I'll go back, but will try somewhere else next time.

We were surprised and delighted to see the lovely interior and taste the delicious food of Le Colonial. Truly a neighborhood gem and a fun surprise to discover in an otherwise dark alley. We felt like we had stepped into another time and place - like Paris or Miami. Everything was fantastic. Only negative interaction was with one particular waiter who seemed disgruntled and refused to ask the chef about a potential dessert alteration for an allergy. ("Well, I'd need to go talk to the chef about doing that, so.... just coffee then?"). Really inconsistent with the rest of the staff, who were great, and the otherwise lovely ambiance of the establishment.

Tags: Pre/post Theatre, Neighborhood Gem, Good for a Date, Good for Groups

I truly enjoyed this restaurant, tucked away in an alley. The sea bass was amazing and they also had a fantastic cocktail list. The waitstaff was attentive, despite a busy evening. I would highly recommend.

Le Colonial will impress you right when you walk in and go up the stairs. You will see a grand patio with lush plants, plush sofas and outdoor dining tables as you pass through on your way to the main entrance in front. Unfortunately, that left us wanting more and we were disappointed right when we walked in and saw that spacing was cramped and the noise level was very high. The decor is classy with a mix of Vietnamese and French motifs, but the main reason we came was for the food, which overall disappointed. We had crab cakes for appetizers, which were very good. The entrees we had were the Bo Loc Luc (Shaken Beef) and the Salmon with papaya salad and mango sauce. We wanted the beef cooked medium well and somehow that came out charred on the outside. The dish was also a bit over salted. The salmon dish was just okay, nothing that stood out. The best part of the meal was the dessert crepe we had, which was very soft, smooth and went well with the sauce. When the best parts of the meal are the appetizer and dessert, it just leaves you wanting, especially when the bill comes to a bit over $100. We would go back only to try their pho, but other than that not much else.

We picked up a friend from SFO who was passing through on an international flight. We made reservations at Le Colonial for 10:45 PM. This is their last seating. Once I made the reservations online, the restaurant called me right away to let me know that the kitchen closes at 10:45 pm and to try our best to get there by 10:45 pm. We dashed over and arrived right at 10:45 pm and although we were warned ahead of time, we were rushed to place our orders. Our waiter was pleasant and tried his best to be helpful. I think the restaurant should reconsider their last seating to allow their customers more time to order. I literally had 5 minutes to decide what to order and it was a little bit stressful. Maybe they should make their last seating at 10:30 to avoid the rush. The food we ordered was delicious. Thankfully, I have been to this restaurant a hand full of times over the years. Can't go wrong with the cubed filet mignon and the sea bass! The fried rice, noodles and appetizer platter are all wins. Enjoy your visit and try to avoid the last seating OR know exactly what you're going to order ahead of time.

Tags: Creative Cuisine, Good for Anniversaries, Special Occasion, Romantic

We always go here before attending a show at the Geary Street Theater. We shared a yummy appetizer: fried shrimp and scallop rolls. My husband ordered the steak and had to return it...the meat was very tough! He ordered another main dish which was very tasty. For my main course, I had the mini crabcakes, an appetizer....very nice! We were seated, for the first time, in the back dining room...quiet, nice service...but very dark! Good place for a tasty dinner!

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